Conor McGregor has settled his long-running multi-million-pound legal case with former friend and sparring partner Artem Lobov.
Lobov sued the MMA superstar, alleging McGregor shook hands with him in 2017 on an agreement to give him five percent of the sale of Proper No Twelve whiskey for his role in the creation of the brand.
The drink proved to be a huge commercial success for McGregor, 37, and was sold to Proximo Spirits in 2021 for £442million.
McGregor himself was understood to have earned around £73m from that deal and Lobov claimed he was ‘muscled out’ – alleging that his handshake agreement with the ‘Notorious’ took place in front of three witnesses in a gym.
McGregor later admitted to offering the 39-year-old Russian just over £700k for his work on the alcohol brand but insisted there was no agreement over a fee for the sale.
Lobov refused that offer and took his old friend to court in a case that was supposed to start in Dublin on Wednesday.
Artem Lobov, seen outside court, had his case with Conor McGregor settled on Wednesday
Lobov and McGregor were training partners and close friends before their dispute
Lobov’s legal representative Andrew Walker then told the High Court that the case had been settled.
He was pictured outside court giving a thumbs up and said he was ‘happy’ with the outcome.
He previously explained on TalkSport that he pitched McGregor the Irish whiskey idea and had given a presentation on it in college, explaining that it was once a dominant force in the market.
‘In my head I was thinking, what a better man than Conor McGregor to bring Irish whiskey back to its stardom? He did it with fighting,’ he said.
McGregor was not present in court but there was a major hint about his return to UFC action in his own counsel’s remarks.
Mark Lynam read a short statement on the fighter’s behalf saying McGregor was satisfied at the resolution and pleased he could now concentrate on ‘this summer’s fight’.
He said: ‘I’m satisfied that this matter has been resolved and I can focus on my training and this summer’s fight.
‘I want to thank Artem for his hard work for my whiskey business.’
The details of the settlement were not disclosed.
McGregor remains the biggest pay-per-view star in MMA despite having not entered the octagon since his defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021.
There has been speculation about him fighting on the much-hyped UFC Freedom 250 card taking place at the White House on June 14.
A 4,500-seat arena is being constructed for the one-off event and a number of fights have been announced for the card, though none have the allure of a long-awaited McGregor comeback.
McGregor has been training hard and says he has been working for a summer fight
When Dana White was asked on Saturday night if there are any new developments on McGregor coming back, he simply replied: ‘Same old. Yup.’
McGregor had previously talked up his chances of fighting on the White House card and posted on X that he wanted ‘$100million and 100 golden visas for family and friends’.
It appears as though the former two-weight champion is training hard for a possible return, sharing plenty of content of himself in the gym on social media.
But there have been countless false dawns and fans have learned to only believe news of a long-awaited return when it is officially announced by his paymasters.
